Inzamam-ul-Haq (Urdu: انضمام الحق) (born 3 March 1970 in Multan, Punjab Province, Pakistan), also known as Inzamam or Inzy, is a former Pakistan international cricketer who was captain between 2003 and 2007. He is a right-handed batsman who has been regarded as one of the leading cricketers in modern times. He currently plays English County Cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and has signed up to join the Indian Cricket League (ICL). On October 5, 2007, Inzamam retired from International cricket following the second Test match against South Africa on October 12 despite having failed to over take Javed Miandad's record of runs in a Test match.
Career
One Day International cricket
Inzamam made his One Day International (ODI) debut in a home series against West Indies in 1991, and made a good start with 20 and 60 in two matches against West Indies, followed by 48, 60, 101, and 117 against Sri Lanka.
Discovered by former Pakistan captain Imran Khan for the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, 22-year-old Inzamam was relatively unheard of before the tournament. To the surprise of many he was persevered with throughout the tournament, coming in at various positions in the batting line-up, despite but not being very successful early on. Yet it was his performances at the most crucial stage of the competition that made fans and summarisers take note. Inzamam rose to fame in Pakistan's dramatic semi-final against New Zealand at Auckland. With his side in a precarious position, chasing 262, against an impressive New Zealand side, he hit a fiery 60 from only 37 balls to rescue his side and guide them into the final. The innings was regarded as one of the finest World Cup performances and perhaps Inzamam's defining moment, which won him many admirers. His massive six in that match was described by David Lloyd as the shot of the tournament.
Inzamam made an equally vital contribution in the final of the World Cup, scoring 42 off just 35 balls, helping Pakistan reach a score of 249 from a very sluggish start. These innings established Inzamam's billing as a big-game player, although he was unable to replicate his World Cup success in later tournaments.
Career highlights in the ODI form of the game include semi-final knock in 1992 and scoring most fifties in One Day Internationals (83). He also became the second batsman to score 10,000 runs in One-day Internationals (after Sachin Tendulkar) and was named in the World Team XI for both test and One-day Internationals in the 2005 ICC Awards. In his final ODI for Pakistan, playing Zimbabwe in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, he took three catches whilst fielding and, somewhat fittingly, took the last one of the match ending his One Day career.
Test cricket
He got little opportunity to make an impact during his 1992 Test debut against England at Edgbaston, with a score of 8*. However, in subsequent matches he demonstrated a vulnerability to swing bowling which resulted in him being dropped for the final Test after averaging a lowly 13.20 runs per innings. Pakistan went on to win this match taking the series 2-1.
After the England series, which Pakistan famously won in 1992, Inzamam aimed to establish himself in the Test side and he achieved this successfully, helping the side to many memorable victories. One of particular note came against Australia in Karachi, 1994. He batted magnificently with the tail and his 58* helped Pakistan to a one-wicket victory and a 1-0 series win. As well as helping his side to become the top-ranked side in the world for a brief period he achieved personal success by becoming the ICC's number one ranked batsmen in 1995 . He later went on to reclaim top spot in the rankings in 1997. He remained amongst the top 20 ranked batsmen up until his retirement. The tour of England in 1996 was a particular success for both Inzamam and Pakistan, where Inzamam transformed his batting against seam bowling, averaging 64, with scores of 148, 70, 65, and 35.
Test career highlights include 329 against New Zealand in Lahore in 2001-02 season, and the second highest Test score by a Pakistani and the twelfth highest overall. He also scored a century (184) in his 100th Test, becoming only the fifth player to do so (the others being Colin Cowdrey, Alec Stewart, Gordon Greenidge and Javed Miandad, followed by Ricky Ponting). Inzy got a century in each innings of the second Test match against England in 2005, to become Pakistan's leading centurion with 24 centuries, breaking Javed Miandad's record, and his 25th century in the 2nd Test against India on 22 January 2006 made him the 10th player to score 25 or more centuries. He also managed 138* while facing a humiliating defeat against Bangladesh, eventually saving the Test match and leading his team to victory.
After announcing his retirement after the second Test against South Africa, at the stadium where he made his international debut, Inzamam needed 20 runs to surpass Javed Miandad for the record of most runs for a Pakistani Test cricketer. After falling for 14 in the first innings, he was dismissed for 3 in his final innings by Paul Harris, out stumped, leaving him 3 runs shy.
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County Cricket
Inzamam made his debut in English county cricket in August 2007 at the age of 37. He joined Yorkshire County Cricket Club as a replacement for Younus Khan who left to play for Pakistan in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. He was disappointing on the whole, making 8 on debut at Scarborough's North Marine Road against Warwickshire before making 9 and 7 in his opening Pro40 games.
Playing style
He has been known to be a very destructive batsman in both One-day Internationals (ODIs) and Test matches. He has the ability to pick the length of a delivery very early and play very late. His footwork is generally considered to be fast, enabling him to position himself early for shots. He averaged just over 50 runs per innings in Tests and nearly 40 runs in ODIs, with a strike rate of 54.03 and 74.23 respectively. Inzy is especially strong playing shots off his legs and has been considered to be amongst the best employers of the pull-shot in world cricket.
His batting style has brought him fans from all over the world. He was called "the best batsmen in the world against pace" by Imran Khan, because "he seems to have so much time on his hands before the ball reaches him".
Inzamam does, however, have a reputation for being a poor runner between wickets. He has the dubious distinction of being run-out the second highest number of times in ODIs having been run-out 40 times (behind Marvan Atapattu (41 times)).
Captaincy
Inzamam captained Pakistan in 25 Tests, winning eight, drawing eight and losing nine. Only three players have captained Pakistan in more Test matches, but all have better win-loss records, and only Imran Khan has a lower win percentage than Inzamam. However, Inzamam held the captaincy until March 2007, the longest captaincy tenure since 1992 when Imran Khan retired.
Captaincy had a positive effect on Inzamam's batting, often leading by example in pressure situations, he averaged greater as a captain (52) than without (50). After early failures in Australia, he took a depleted Pakistan side to India in 2005 and was instrumental in securing a draw, winning the final test match from an unlikely position with 184*. He subsequently lead his side to an ODI success against West Indies (away), England (home) and Sri Lanka (away) as well as Test Series victories against England (home), India (home), Sri Lanka (away). Inzamam had seemed to have united the Pakistan side and victories lead them to 2nd place in the ICC Test Rankings and 3rd place in the ICC ODI Ranking. The latter part of Inzamam's tenure as Pakistan captain was less successful and the team was embroiled in many controversies culminating in a disappointingly early exit from the 2007 Cricket World Cup at the hands of lowly Ireland.
In the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Inzamam captained the Pakistani team to its first loss to associate ICC member Ireland (on St Patrick's Day). This result and their previous loss to West Indies, led to them being knocked out of the tournament. A day later he announced his retirement from One-day International Cricket and resignation as Test captain. The announcement was made the same day that Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's coach, died in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica. He dedicated his final ODI to Woolmer to whom he shared a good relationship with for three years and affectionately called 'The Bob'.
Ball tampering allegations
On Pakistan's 2006 tour of England, Inzamam captained a team that refused to re-enter the field, after tea, on 20 August 2006 at The Oval after allegations of ball tampering from umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove. The umpires awarded England 5 penalty runs and the choice of a replacement ball, after ruling that Pakistan had illegally altered the ball. Inzamam and his team staged a protest at the decision. During the protest the umpires, having tried to persuade Inzamam to come out of the dressing room, decided that the match could not continue. Upon returning to the field with his team, only to find both the England team and the umpires absent, Inzamam was informed of this situation. After further discussions between both teams, umpires and cricket board officials it was eventually agreed that the match could not be restarted. Thus, Inzamam became the first captain in history to forfeit a Test match. Inzamam was later charged with tampering with the ball and bringing the game into disrepute (the latter charge associated with the teatime protest), although he strenuously denied the charges. On September 28 2006 the allegations of ball-tampering were dismissed, however he was found guilty of bringing cricket into disrepute and given a 4-match One Day International ban with immediate effect. The Pakistan Cricket Board later blamed Inzamam for Oval Test forfeiture; adding that the forfeited match had made the board susceptible to a claim of £800,000 by the ECB as compensation.
Performance analysis
His ability to play at his best under pressure is widely accepted among critics. Sanjay Manjrekar, an Indian television pundit and former batsman, once said that Inzamam is the world's best batsman when it comes to playing under pressure. His 60 off 37 balls in the 1992 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand and 184 against India at Bangalore in the 2005 Pakistan-India test series are examples of innings where Inzamam has performed under immense pressure. However his performance against teams with strong pace attacks like South Africa and Australia has been unimpressive, averaging around 31, and having scored just one century in all forms of the game against both teams combined. Inzamam averages 23.81 in the World Cup.
Controversies
* In 1997 Sahara Cup, he assaulted a member of the crowd, Shiv Kumar Thind, a Canadian-based Indian, who had been calling him names on a megaphone. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/245024.html According to eye witnesses a cricket bat was brought out by the Pakistan team 12th man, Mushtaq Ahmed, who then waited at the boundary with the bat. Television replays confirm those statements. The Guardian newspaper quoted another eyewitness as saying "If not for the spectators and security staff curbing him, he would have broken the head of that guy. The guy with the megaphone was no match for Inzamam and got mauled. Even when Canadian police took Inzamam back on to the field, he was trying to get back to the stands." http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/245024.html After reviewing footage of the incident Canadian police arrested Inzamam and charged him with two counts of assault and one of assault with a deadly weapon, http://www.dispatch.co.za/1997/09/18/page%2024.htm and released on bail of $3,000. Two days after Inzamam was charged, the Pakistan team lodged a formal complaint, to the 32nd Division of the Metro police in Toronto against Thind, claiming that Thind had thrown his megaphone at Inzamam.http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1997/OD_TOURNEYS/SAHARA/ARTICLES/MORE_ASSAULT_20SEP1997.html Charges against Thind and Inzamam were eventually dropped. Jackie Hendriks, the match referee, banned Inzamam for two ODIs with a suspended ban of one further game. http://www.rediff.com/sports/sep/16b.htm
* Inzamams disciplinary record is as follows: *# v India at Toronto, September 14, 1997 - assaulted a spectator. Banned for two one-day internationals, suspended ban of one further match. *# v South Africa at Newlands, April 23, 1998 - dissent at umpire's decision. Fined 50 percent of match fee, with a suspended ban of one limited overs match. *# v Sri Lanka - March 12-16, 2000 at Karachi - criticising the attitude of the Sri Lankan players. Received severe reprimand. *# v West Indies - May 25-29, 2000 in Antigua, West Indies - dissent over umpiring decision. Fined 50 percent of match fee. *# v England - June 23, 2001 at Lord's - showing dissent at the umpire's decision. Fined 50 percent of match fee and suspended for two one-day internationals. *# v India, March 16, 2004 at Rawalpindi - conduct contrary to the spirit of the game. Fined 50 percent of match fee. *# v West Indies - February 1, 2005 at Perth - for not controlling his players as captain. Fined 100 percent of match fee. *# v India - March 24-28, 2005 at Bangalore - showing dissent at an umpire's decision by action or verbal abuse. Fined 30.5 percent of match fee. *# v India - March 24-28, 2005 at Bangalore - charging or advancing towards the umpire in an aggressive manner when appealing. Banned for one Test match. *# v India - April 5, 2005 at Visakhapatnam - abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings. Reprimanded. *# v England - August 17-21, 2006 at the Oval - ball tampering. Cleared. *# v England - August 17-21, 2006 at the Oval - bringing the game into disrepute. Banned for four one day *# v Ireland - March 17, 2007 at Jamaica - failure to ensure that his team met the minimum over rate requirements. Fined 50% of match fee.
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Inzamam-ul-Haq 100 vs INDIA 2004 Karachi
Inzamam ul Haq 1st Over ever during ICL 2008
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